


Pandemic: the original

by ladysif



Series: Pandemic Universe [2]
Category: Pandemic (Board Game)
Genre: Atlanta, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Diseases, Ebola - Freeform, Epidemics, Gen, Grief/Mourning, H1N1, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Mentions of Suicide, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Pandemic - Freeform, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, Viruses, anthrax - Freeform, avian influenza, outbreaks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:28:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1676441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladysif/pseuds/ladysif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the popular cooperative board game, Pandemic, designed by Matt Leacock and Tom Lehmann, this saga focuses on one team's mission to save humanity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta faces a personnel problem that has been left unchecked for years. Under the command of contingency planner, Kai Weaver, potential recruits must team up and face the unique challenges of a newly constructed virtual reality world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Turquoise

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a beta; mistakes are my own. Original characters based on roles in the Pandemic board game; Tom Frieden (Director of CDC), Matt Leacock and Tom Lehmann are of course real people and belong to themselves. Everything in this work is fiction.

**Prologue**

The invitation came in a thick white envelope, the kind that oozed both class and austerity. Since he had moved onto a yacht a year ago, he no longer expected communications of the non-electronic variety. He had been about to toss the envelope into the bin with yesterday’s take-out when something about the sender’s address triggered him, stirring memories that lay dormant in his mind. What he had found inside was even stranger than he had predicted.

The swift turn of events caused him to glance around his surroundings with a new alertness, noticing for the first time the man in a crisp white shirt with rolled up sleeves who was leaning against a black Mercedes by the dock. The stranger raised a hand in greeting and tapped once at his watch on his wrist to indicate that time was ticking. He hurriedly threw some clothing into a sports bag and grabbed his secret stash of cash, wallet, and passport. _Just in case_ , he thought.

“Mr. Lehmann, please get into the car. We have some ways to travel before we reach our destination.”

Up close he could see the stripes on the stranger’s red tie. The stranger opened the back door for him. The interior smelled like leather, but it was cold and oddly professional, almost _too_ professional, as if it were confident in its own self-importance.

“Please, call me Tom. Who are you, may I ask?”

The man smirked, slamming on the accelerator so Tom was thrown back into the seat. Behind them the marina receded quickly into the distance, Tom’s yacht a tiny white spot on the horizon.

“Why,” he answered. “I am the contingency planner.”

***

“Mr. Leacock, thank you for joining us for our expert panel at the US designer-gamers convention. This year has undoubtedly been a huge success for you. After a year of traveling worldwide, accepting awards, and attending conventions, can you tell us what the next step is for you?”

Matt Leacock grinned inwardly at the earnest host, knowing that what he says next will not only shock her, but possibly send reverberations throughout the entire gaming world.

“It seems that my next steps will lead me back to where I started, possibly bring things full circle...” He paused for dramatic effect. “I’ve been hired by the CDC in Atlanta.”

The resulting fan boy roars and screams in Hall H were even louder than Matt had anticipated.

***


	2. Orange and Brown

In a diner in Atlanta, Jesús Montano Ortega wiped the sweat off his brow as he contemplated how he had gotten into the mess he is in now. Being constantly badgered with tales of the dire shortage of medics in the US Army, he had joined the military right out of medical school. After five years in Afghanistan and seeing some of his best buddies die before him on the field or in the ward, he had had enough, or so the army psychiatrist had told his supervising officer. All of this happened two years ago. Two long years of recovery, of weekly sessions with a shrink, of being looked at funny by all the extended members of his family during family _fiestas_.

Even though he was told he can never serve in the army again, somehow, absurdly, he missed being on the battlefield; missed the familiar rush of adrenaline he would get from running across rough terrain, dodging stray fire as he administers trauma care to the guys on his side. Most of all he missed feeling like he is part of something much, much bigger than him. Now, two years later he was sitting in the middle of a small hole-in-the-wall diner, reading a newspaper and feeling useless.

His phone rang, a sharp artificial tinkle that despite its best intentions failed to disturb the heavy stupor that hung like a miasma above the diner’s inhabitants. The diner’s owner didn’t even bother to look up from the soap opera he was following on his small television. It was a text from his buddy, Joel, who works as a pilot for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

 _Hey man_ , it read, _finally back in town—last one was a doozy. See you at WB 9pm?_

WB stood for Wrecking Bar, the pub that the two often visited back in their college days.

 _Sure,_ he typed back. _See you then._

***

“Dr. Frieden, your guests are here. Shall I show them into your office, sir?”

His new secretary was entirely too formal, Tom Frieden thought as he rubbed his temples in a gesture of fatigue. However, Mary was on mat leave and for a new hire Sandy was fitting in quite nicely---not many would agree to work OT on short notice at 7pm on a Friday. 

“Yes please, and can you get me another coffee? No milk---”

“And 2 packets of Splenda, the pink ones, not the yellow ones. Yes I know, sir. I’ll tell them to come right in.”

Frieden was pleasantly surprised. It had taken Mary way longer to remember his coffee preferences.

The two men walked in, one in a polo and cargo shorts, the other in a gamer tee and jeans. Both men were tired and looked like they could use some sleep, no doubt having travelled far distances before arriving at his office.

“Director Frieden, pleased to make your acquaintance.” said the man in jeans. If Frieden had remembered correctly, this man must be—

“Mr. Leacock, pleased to make yours. It is an honour to have you both here, and enchanted to meet you too, Mr. Lehmann. I trust you are acquainted with Kai from your travels?”

“Is that his name...he just told me he is the contingency planner, I’m assuming you have more than one.”

“Why yes, I’m sorry to hear you two did not converse much on your way here. He can be rather...terse. However, Kai is our most qualified senior planner. It was him who recommended we hire the two of you to look into our personnel problem. It seems as though HR has not been doing a good enough job in recent years to recruit sufficient qualified professionals to fill vacancies on our disaster response team. While I am pleased to say the quantity of personnel has never been an issue, there seems to be a certain lack in our current roster...”

At this moment, Sandy walked in with the coffee, and Frieden was gratified to see that she had thought to bring tea for the guests as well.

“Dr. Frieden, Mr. Weaver here to see you sir.”

“Tell him to come in. He’s probably better at explaining than I am.”

Kai Weaver walked in and nodded respectfully at his superior.

“Please take a seat, Kai. Will you explain to these gentlemen about your work and why they are here?”

Weaver nodded and started without preamble. “As a contingency planner for CDC I specialize in disasters, disease-related disasters, to be exact. I base my plans upon a perceived or anticipated threat in order to identify resources and strategies required to counter that threat. Threats could be man-made, such as sabotage and bioterrorism, or natural, such as floods and earthquakes. It is my job to plan for events we hope and pray will never happen, sometimes visualizing weeks, months, even years ahead then working backwards trying to figure out what is needed at this point in time to prepare. I have identified that with our current team there is no one who is equally adept working alone as they are working in collaboration. To be blunt we have workers who are either average in their roles but work well in a team, or workers who can only work well when alone. If we are to form an elite response team when epidemics strike we need better than average workers, and I have been informed this is difficult to screen for in our traditional hiring and probation processes. This is where you come in. In the letters, we have explained that we need you two specifically as the creators behind the cooperative board game, _Pandemic_. If you are able to design a virtual reality, fully immersive game based on _Pandemic_ that can be used in our hiring processes with potential recruits, we may go a long way in solving our current labour vacuum.”

Lehmann’s jaw dropped. That was more words than he had been able to get out of Weaver for the entire duration of their trip to the CDC. Beside him Leacock was full of enthusiasm for the idea.

“This is to my knowledge quite unprecedented. Will the resulting interface be such that players are simultaneously aware of their real world surroundings as well as their game environment?”

“The effect, as I have been informed by our scientist, will be akin to _The Matrix_. Blue pill or red pill?” Frieden grinned.

 Once the two game designers have left, Weaver turned back to Frieden. “Sir, have you given more thought to my idea of requiring current employees to be screened through this test as well?”

“Yes, Kai I have. I don’t know what there is between you and Sam Jackson---”

“Sir, with all due respect, I have nothing personal against Jackson, no more than the rest of his team does. They cannot stand him, sir. He is foul-tempered and they are afraid to work with him.”

Frieden sighed inwardly and wondered at the irony of hearing about being a team player from Kai Weaver’s mouth. If any man on his team was said to be intimidating, it was a toss-up between Weaver and Jackson.

“I said I would think about it, Kai. I appreciate all the hard work you have put in these last couple of months especially. We will discuss this when we have a game to test out.”

***

Gemma Andrews was the only one left in the trainee lab on Friday evening. _First to come in the morning, last to leave at night_ , she thought to herself. Working as a research assistant for the CDC was something that she has always dreamed of in her undergraduate years in microbiology and immunology. Actually getting to work with scientists whose work she has always admired and read about was altogether a surreal, almost out-of-body experience. At the moment she was pondering a theoretical problem her supervisor had given her about the transmission rate of anthrax while comparing gram stains of various other samples.

The lab door opened. Thinking it was the lab janitor she did not look up and was surprised when the footsteps stopped right in front of her.

“Ms. Andrews.”

The man regarded the young research assistant before him. Dressed in plain clothing that buried her true form, Gemma Andrews was pale, with chestnut hair that fell past her shoulders. On her file from HR he had read that she was an amazingly determined worker, astute in her scientific observations, and sharp of intellect. However, her psych evaluation also said she was lacking in certain...social skills. After a quick once over of his target, he was inclined to agree with the initial HR assessment.

Gemma looked up from her microscope.

“Sir, are you looking for someone? This lab is restricted to those with level 3 clearance and up only. If you could give me a minute I can escort you elsewhere in the building?”

The man’s mouth quirked up slightly, noting that she had completely missed that he had called her by name. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Andrews, I believe you may be the person I am looking for. That is, of course, if you are the research assistant who recently submitted a request to HR about applying to our disaster response team?”

Gemma blushed. “Yes sir, are you from HR? I wasn’t expecting to hear back until next week, earliest.”

He chose to ignore this. “Ms. Andrews, it says on your application you are applying for the full-fledged researcher position. Do you believe you have what it takes to work in the field with other members on a disease-fighting team?”

“Yes, of course. I am fully confident in my abilities or else I wouldn’t have applied. Is this an interview?”

“What do you see around you?”

“Pardon?” Gemma was flabbergasted, unsure of the strange man before her.

“Describe what you see around you, around us, right now.”

“This is a state of the art lab, sir. We have the best equipment, ventilation system, and resources, all at our fingertips here.” _And the brightest minds, minds that don’t appreciate being asked silly questions when they are working,_ she added to herself.

“What’s missing?”

“Nothing, nothing’s missing. Everything needed is right here.” Gemma said absentmindedly, her mind still on the anthrax case study.

He shook his head. “You’re not thinking hard enough, Ms. Andrews.”

Gemma closed her eyes. When she opened them a few seconds later, she had the answer as well as the solution to the anthrax problem.

“The people; scientists, researchers, are missing.”

“Good, you learn quickly Ms. Andrews. When you are out on the field as part of a disaster response team you will often not have other scientific minds at your disposal. What we have here is a state of the art facility as you said---in the field there will be makeshift research stations with only the crudest of materials and resources. Can you handle that kind of pressure, _knowing_ that it is not wholly your fault a cure has not been found, _yet also knowing_ that you are letting the team down by not finding one? Are you persistent enough to exhaust every avenue and never know defeat? Because remember, time is ticking and people are turning to corpses the longer it takes. What I’m curious is, are you like the other millennials that _cannot pull their weight_ when it truly matters, joining this team just for the prestige it offers?”

 “I am _not_ an entitled millennial, sir. I work harder and am more committed to this work than almost all other level 3 employees.”

There was a pause as the strange man considered the young woman.

“Consider this your first interview—I will notify you when the next step of the process is ready.”

He turned to leave and was nearly to the door when Gemma called out to him.

“Wait, I’m confused...who are you?”

The man turned around, a slight smirk on his lips. “Kai Weaver, clearance level 7.”

***


	3. Sky Blue, Orchid, and White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Subtle shout-out to a friend of mine in this chapter. Has anyone figured out what the chapter titles mean yet?

The Wrecking Bar was a favourite haunt of students from nearby Emory University. The double pillars framing the entrance were ionic in nature, recalling memories of an ancient culture the locale has never known. The gleaming wooden tables and chairs add an earthen tone to what would otherwise be a dungeon-like interior characterized by cold stone walls. There was something about the structure of the building and the design of its interior that made Jesús feel physically supported, like he is walking on steady ground and roots are sprouting from his feet to reach deep into the foundations of the pub itself.

“The Belgian blond, please.” As the waitress meandered away with his order, Jesús glanced around the room. For someone’s whose job requires them to be precisely punctual, Joel had the horrible habit of always being late. Evidently the years at CDC has changed the pilot little in this regard when it comes to social outings, but Jesús would habitually show up on time anyway.

Judging by the number of younger patrons that night, it seems as though it was university exams week. The only other person on the younger side of 40 in the room was a young man with messy hair and hipster glasses in the corner. He appeared to be filling out some sort of application that left him raking fingers through his hair in frustration. Every once in a while the man would scrawl a few lines feverishly with his tongue half sticking out. His meal lay forgotten next to him on the table. Jesús was so engrossed in observing the young man that he did not notice when Joel arrived.

“Hey man, it’s been a while, eh?” Joel slapped Jesús’ back good-naturedly. Joel Wu was an easygoing man in his early 30s and one of Jesús’ best college buddies. Even though most of their mutual friends have moved away after graduation, the two of them managed to stay in touch somehow even when Jesús was still in the army.

“Glad to see you in one piece, man. What’s the doozy?”

“That’s the story of the year, gotta work up to it, y’know?” Joel managed to flag down a wait staff to take his order. As the waitress made her way over from the opposite end of the room, Joel took a good hard look at his companion.

“Buddy, you don’t look so good...”

“Says the person with a week’s worth of stubble on his face.”

“No really, when was the last time you actually did something—” Joel broke off to give his order to the waitress.

As she walked away, Jesús lifted an eyebrow. “Are you mothering me?”

“Hey, hey I ain’t picking a fight with you, man. Wanna hear my story?”

It took until the both of them were done their meals for Joel to finally finish his story. Over in the corner the young man had taken off his glasses. There was a stack of paper neatly piled in front of him.

“Okay, so what you are basically telling me is that your last mission was spent transporting a game designer to CDC HQ for some sort of top secret project that is possibly related to recruitment of elite individuals to join a disaster response team? Don’t you guys have an HR department?”

“Yep. The guy was escorted by a level 7 employee no less.” Joel nodded happily. “Screw HR, don’t you see what this means?”

“No...wait...no...NO...you can’t be serious.”

“Yep, dead serious. It’ll be just like old times. Remember our first job together at Denny’s? How we would make each other these gross shakes...”

“Mind you, I still think they stole our idea for the maple bacon shake. Back then all we were endangering were our taste buds; this is real lives at stake we’re talking about.”

“Yeah, but imagine how much fun it’d be. Life just got real, baby.”

“You seem entirely too excited about that. Who said I would even get hired?”

Joel calmed down for a second. “Dude, forget what anyone else has said. The war did not break you or your ability to heal. You are a medic, that’s your calling and it doesn’t feel right when you’re not doing it, does it?”

***

The dispatcher application process for CDC’s new elite disaster response team was the most complicated piece of work Ryuzaki Yamada had ever seen. Phase 1 consists of the submission of a 10 paged application, full curriculum vitae, cover letter, minimum of 3 references (at least 1 personal, 1 professional, 1 academic if applicable), followed by screening interviews and a personality evaluation. It had taken more than 3 weeks for Ryuzaki to compile all this information; cross-checking dates and references, looking up all the places he had ever volunteered at or worked for. He understood the gravity of the position, its role within a disaster response team, and how fortunate it was that the posting had been made external at all. Clutching his extensive amount of paperwork ahead of him, he sat and waited with the other applicants for his Phase 1 screening interview in the seating area on the 3rd floor.

The door to the interview room opened and another flustered young applicant stepped out. Ryuzaki wondered what could be in that room to intimidate so many potential candidates. As he debated whether he should try to flatten his hair again, the disembodied voice floated out.

“Ryuzaki Yamada.”

Ryuzaki glanced at the other applicants still left to be interviewed. Some of them looked at him nervously.

“Alright...then.”

The door shut behind him. The office was not really what he had expected. Other than the potted plant by the door there wasn’t very much that seemed to reveal the personality of the person who inhabited the space. The desk was of dark mahogany and its size commanded a sense of presence in the room so the eye was automatically drawn to it, but it too seemed standard issue, like a stereotypical “important person desk” rather than one that spoke of any real sort of personality. His eyes lifted to the man who sat behind it.

“Please take a seat.”

Ryuzaki sat. The man in front of him was a different story. Dressed simply in a pale blue cotton shirt, he seemed to exude a certain sense of rigid discipline. There was something about his presence that ignited a primal fear in Ryuzaki; for such a large man the interviewer was sitting absolutely still, like a predator would when observing its prey.

“I am Kai Weaver. My role at the CDC is as a contingency planner and I will be the one seeing you through the entire interviewing process. If you prove to be what I am looking for today, you will be invited to Phase 2. Do you have any questions before we start?”

“Yes, sir. I’m really honoured to be here, but I’m wondering why this posting was made external in the first place. Surely there are dispatchers on your roster currently who are qualified enough to fit the job description?”

Weaver raised an eyebrow. “You’re the first potential candidate to ask me that today.”

Ryuzaki tried to press his advantage. “And did you answer any of them?”

The contingency planner smiled, showing all his teeth. “Shall we start now, Mr. Yamada?”

***

Down in the sub-basement, game designers Tom Lehmann and Matt Leacock were busy putting the finishing touches on the new virtual reality _Pandemic_ prototype.

“Loading all roles, capping card limit, randomizing event cards...”

“Good, good. Are the cube limits capped too?”

“Yeah, yeah, 96, 24 each. Setting research stations limit to 6...”

“Gentlemen, how’s everything coming along?” It was Director Frieden.

Proclamations of “splendid” and “absolutely swimmingly” came from the two, who were completely engrossed in their work.

“Can I get an update?” Seeing that the two designers were still deep in conversation with one another about details of the game, he turned to the dirty blonde woman in the lab coat who was double-checking the city information in the database.  

“Dr. Shulgin? What’s the drug status?”

Yuliya Shulgin turned around. “Everything’s all set for a test run. Kai and I will be going in later as beta-testers in our respective roles. The drug, IC-617 is designed to put recruits under for approximately an hour after which the awakening phase would be immediately initiated. As the time frame for a successful game of _Pandemic_ is 45 minutes, that would give us enough time for 99.3% of cases.”

“And the game environment? Is the texture believable?”

This time it was Matt Leacock who spoke up. “The graphics are _top-notch_. Thanks to you guys we were able to integrate Google Earth images with satellite images from NASA and the gaming environment is absolutely realistic. Game rules parallel those in the board game but have been modified to be consistent with a real life environment to bring as believable an experience as possible to those in the game.”

“Excellent. Keep me updated as usual. Dr. Shulgin, have Kai draft me a report after the beta tests. I want this show on the road as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Yuliya was filling two syringes with identical amounts of IC-617 when the contingency planner arrived in the sub-basement lab. She took his hand and led him to one of the recliners.

“Three potential recruits so far, only one with any real promise.”

“Gemma has real promise, that makes two.” Yuliya placed a headset on Kai and adjusted the straps on the recliner.

“I feel like I’m strapped to a gurney. Did Frieden say when Jackson is returning?”

“In a couple days, I think. He’s not going to be pleased when he finds out that you’ve recommended him for reprocessing. Here.” Yuliya handed him the syringe. “Try to relax, Kai. This works best when you’re not actively fighting the drug.”

She climbed onto her own recliner and strapped herself in, placing her headset on last. “Are the headsets working?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Okay, see you in 3...”

They plunged their syringes into the crook of their elbow at the same time.

***


	4. Grass Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All major characters are being assembled in what is the conclusion of Arc 1. Phase 2 is initiated and the team acquaints itself with the challenge that is at hand.

_The trials went better than expected._ Dr. Frieden read. _The drug was designed to put us under for approximately an hour, variable on weight, and had relatively the same effect on Dr. Shulgin and me. Seeing as a game may range from 15-60 minutes based on level of success, this should not be an issue. As we were able to beat the base game 90% of the time on heroic difficulty level with 6 epidemics, recruits should have no problem on standard level with 5. Taking into account the extra special events and the diverse range of abilities different recruits would bring to the team, the success rate is estimated to be 86.2% at 95% confidence level, higher if each turn is executed perfectly._

“Sandy?” Frieden looked up from the contingency planner’s report and glanced briefly at the list of recruits recommended for Phase 2. There were only 3 candidates and one is a current CDC employee.

“Yes, Director?”

“Notify HR to initiate Phase 2 and recall Sam Jackson immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

Kai Weaver surveyed two of his three handpicked recruits seated nervously in front of him in the level 1 conference room. Gemma Andrews was sitting stiffly in a position that could only be defined as stressed, although her mind appeared to be elsewhere, presumably working on yet another theoretical problem. The usually cheerful Ryuzaki Yamada had tried to crack a joke as he walked into the room, only to see that it was Weaver who would be presiding over the meeting. Other than a small involuntary twitch from Gemma, there was no sign of acknowledgement from the other two that Ryuzaki had even entered the room. The door was wide open; the last recruit was 5 minutes late.

“Jesús!”

Joel Wu caught up to his friend just as he rounded the corner to the conference room. He had offered him a ride this morning on his way to work and had badly misjudged how long it would take to get from Jesús’ house to the CDC.

His friend looked at him in exasperation. “Joel, I’m _already_ late.”

“I know; you forgot your wallet. Break a leg, man!”

As Jesús entered the room and met his superior’s eyes, he hoped fervently that he wouldn’t actually have to break a leg...

***

Sam Jackson was _pissed_. He hadn’t believed his eyes when he first received the recall notice. He had been at the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong when he received the first of two very persistent emails _requesting_ his presence back at HQ effective immediately. It had taken a lot of coaxing to find out from Sandy what the recall notice was for, and it had only escalated his already short temper to find out Kai Weaver was the one responsible for the entire fiasco.

Jackson burst into the level 1 conference room absolutely livid with anger, zeroing in on Kai Weaver and barely noticing the 3 unfamiliar faces in the room.

“First you cut my funding, and now THIS?! This is low even for you, Kai Weaver!”

Weaver raised an eloquent eyebrow. “The funding cuts were not my fault, as you would have realized had you not remained blissfully unaware of the politics of our current situation. I’d be happy to explain the situation to you further, Samuel Jackson, would it not take away from the valuable time of our other recruits here.”

Jackson unleashed a string of unprintable obscenities at Weaver as scientist Yuliya Shulgin entered the room. Her cool gaze swept over the two arguing men and zeroed in on the recruits.

“Recruits, follow me!”

Shulgin turned around and walked down the hallway without checking to see if she was being followed.

“What do you guys think of daddy and daddy arguing in there, huh?” Ryuzaki tried for some light-hearted banter as they followed the intimidating scientist through the bowels of CDC HQ.

“The less said, the better.” Jesús replied quietly. “I have a feeling Dr. Shulgin has eyes on the back of her head.”

“And ears too, Mr. Montano. Don’t act so surprised that I know all your names Mr. Yamada, I have level 7 access to all personnel records and files.” Her eyes landed on Gemma and softened slightly.

“We are just outside of the sub-basement laboratory where Phase 2 will take place. Inside our game designers are hard at work weeding out glitches in our system. Phase 2 will be a challenge for many of you; it will test each of your individual abilities as well as your capacity to work within a team in crisis situations. All of this will occur in a realistic simulation; each of you would be hooked up to a virtual reality gaming environment and as a team you will have up to an hour in real time to find cures for 4 diseases. Here are the full instructions. I suggest you read them as a group and become as familiar as you can with them. Once the simulation has started you will have the opportunity to look up details you may have missed, however this will also take up valuable game time. I should also warn you that although the gaming environment will mislead you to think days and even months may have passed, all of Phase 2 will occur within one hour. Any questions?”

Gemma looked down at the thick official-looking folder she had been handed, consternation in her eyes.

“How will we be evaluated?”

Dr. Shulgin smiled slightly at her favourite pupil. “You will receive marks for your individual contribution to the team, how well the group functioned as a whole, and ultimately whether you were able to complete the task. Each category is worth a third of the overall mark. Based on how you score in the other 2 categories, not finding the 4 cures does not automatically disqualify you from working at the CDC. Director Frieden, Mr. Weaver and I will have access to live feeds of your progress in the game but will not be monitoring your team communications through the headsets. If we ever need to reach any of you we may do so by broadcasting to the gaming environment directly.”

The three recruits looked at each other, clearly disconcerted after realizing a large component of their mark depends on successful group collaboration. They left the sub-basement with Yuliya’s last instructions still ringing in their ears. They are to return to the sub-basement as a team tomorrow morning to begin Phase 2.

As Ryuzaki wandered off to the dorms behind the other two, he thought he saw a familiar figure trailing behind them.

“Hey Samuel! I see you got your file, this whole Phase 2’s a bit trippy don’t you think?”

Jackson gave him an irritated look as he continued to walk on. “Please don’t ever call me that again.”

“Uncle Sam then?” Seeing that the other two were farther ahead, he cut off Jackson’s muttering to call out to them. “Hey, Zeus! Gemma! Wanna head over to Wrecking Bar to grab a pint and look over those files?”

Gemma and Jesús looked at one another. “It’s Jesús, not Zeus.” The doctor corrected mildly. “What do you think, er, Ms.?”

“Andrews, but please just call me Gemma. I’m personally not going to order anything alcoholic...it might be useful to get to know each other though if we’ll be in each other’s heads for the next little while.”

Jesús was pleasantly surprised to note that his future colleague has an endearingly shy smile. “Sure, since it’s lunch anyway we can go grab a bite and have the afternoon to work on deciphering this thing.” He held up his folder with the words ‘confidential’ and ‘medic’ embossed on it.

Sam Jackson shrugged. “Well it’s got to be 5 o’clock somewhere.”

***

“I knew it! This is just like that board game, _Pandemic_!”

Gemma winced as Ryuzaki slammed his beer down on the tabletop with conviction, sending bits of food flying. She had barely managed to keep her own drinking glass safe from Ryuzaki’s sudden enthusiasm.

“Read it, tell me it doesn’t sound exactly like the game!”

Jesús looked at the equally baffled and annoyed face of Sam Jackson. “I hate it to break it to you, Ryuzaki, but you’re probably the only one of us who has ever played the game.”

“Well, the only way to win the game is to find the 4 cures, right? So at the beginning of the game we start out at CDC HQ and are each given 2 different electronic files on cities in the world that contain information about the disease, then once we have 5 files on the same disease we will have enough data to synthesize a cure at any research station in the world.”

Gemma was scanning the contents of her file so quickly her eyes seemed to blur. “Right, and they even made it easy for us so the cards will be colour-coded. Black is MERS, yellow is ebola, blue is H1N1, and red is avian influenza.”

“Okay,” Sam said unhappily. “Don’t we have a vaccine for H1N1?”

“In the real world, yes, but it may be that we are dealing with a mutated version in this game.” Gemma quirked an eyebrow at Ryuzaki, who took it as a cue to continue his previous ramble.

“Right, so like in the real world there will already be diseases on the verge of outbreak when we start the game. We are only allowed 4 actions per turn, so one action could be something like traveling to connected cities, directly flying somewhere else, treating patients, building research stations, and sharing knowledge, such as giving or taking city files from each other. After each action we receive 2 new files, and depending on the infection rate which increases with each epidemic, 2-4 cities will be infected with disease.”

“So you’re telling me that after I do 4 actions I can’t do anything until it’s my turn again?”

“Well, Sam, it says here that we are still allowed to do things like sleep, eat, or otherwise take care of ourselves. We just won’t be able to do anything that would affect the game’s progress unless it’s our turn.” Jesús paused, looking at Ryuzaki. “About the treating patients part, am I correct in saying that all CDC recruits and employees must have standard first aid training?”

It was Gemma who answered. “You’re quite right, doctor. These instructions say diseases are ranked in terms of magnitude in the game. For us it takes 1 action to treat patients in a magnitude 1 city but the number of actions will increase as the severity of the disease increases because we do not have the specialized medical knowledge to provide the level of care needed unless we use up more actions.”

“That sounds simple enough. So doc here only needs one action to treat a magnitude 3 city whereas it will take us 3 actions?” Sam looks to Jesús.

“Once a cure has been found all of us would be able to treat magnitude 3 cities with that particular disease in the same way, while I have only to enter the city for the virus to seemingly vanish into the ether.” Jesús smiled, looking pleased.

“So basically you’d be like Jesus.” Sam clapped Jesús on the back.

Ryuzaki coughed slightly. “So before we all think we have divine immunity. Has anyone looked at how communication works yet? Given the way diseases are spread worldwide, it would be necessary for us to split up and yet remain in contact.”

“Wait,” Jesús thought back a moment. “Shulgin said something about headsets...yes we are each given headphones to wear at all times, and the mics can be turned on whenever we want to communicate with other team members. The way it works, everyone with their headphones on will be able to hear everything that is transmitted through our headsets. We’re supposed to keep them on at all times to facilitate communication.” He looked at Gemma, who was frowning deeply. “What’s up, Gemma?”

“I’ve been reading up on my own role. Says here that at some point in the game we’ll have to think about exchanging city files because it may be difficult for any one of us to collect five for the same disease on our own. As a researcher others may receive the electronic files from me as long as we are in the same city as I have full range access, but for everyone else they have to be in the same city as the file they are exchanging to be able to access the specific GPS-locked database where it is stored. I suppose this would make more sense once we are in the game.”

“Since everyone seems to be learning their own roles,” said Ryuzaki. “It makes sense for me to explain mine to you guys. I’ll be your dispatcher which would make the game quite a bit easier as we can’t always rely on traveling between connected cities given how spread out outbreaks can be. Our city files contain information for direct flights to cities whose files we have, or charter flights to anywhere in the world if we have the city file that matches the city we are in. However, every time we use these newly established routes we must give up the file we had used to establish that connection, meaning we will no longer have use of the data within to find a cure. Believe it or not it actually takes a tremendous amount of work to open up new airspace over cities just for one flight; it’s easier to do so if one had been made previously. My ability gives me the power to transport other people on my turn and what’s more, I can move you directly to where another team member is without having to discard any files.”

Everyone turned to look at Sam, whose role hasn’t been clarified yet.

“Don’t look at me, I’m the operations expert. I construct research stations for you guys to find cures in. For me building research stations take up one action but I can construct them in any city I am in without having to throw away those thingamabobs like you guys have to. My network of stations will allow us to take shuttle flights between stations. I can also charter flight from any station by discarding any of those data things.” He looked at each of them in exasperation. “Look can someone just quickly explain how this game is lost? We can sit here together hashing out details until the cows come home or we can leave and just read the fine bits on our own. No point just sitting here all day. I don’t know about you but I’m jetlagged.”

They all looked to Ryuzaki.

“Well, there’re 3 ways to lose. You can run out of time when there are no city files left in the database for more turns, you can lose when the game’s supply of any one virus is depleted, and the last one is if a worldwide panic is triggered when there are more than 7 outbreaks.”

“Okay,” Jesús said. “So an outbreak occurs when---”

“When a magnitude 3 city becomes infected. Because the city is fully saturated, the disease will spread outward to all connecting cities. If any of these are magnitude 3, a chain reaction is triggered and we may have more outbreaks.”

“Jesus...” muttered Sam. He turned to flag down a waitress to pay his bill.

“I’m right here.” The medic said mildly. Surprised, Gemma let out a short laugh that she managed to convert into a cough.

“If we’re done here I’ll see y’all tomorrow morning.” Sam clapped Jesús on the back again and left.

***

The next morning dawned bright and early. Too bright and too early, thought Ryuzaki. Almost as if...

“Shit!” He sat straight up in his bed and stared at the alarm clock. He had 20 minutes before Phase 2 was scheduled to start. He put his clothes on in record speed as he looked around for his folder, finally finding it next to his laptop where he had been looking up _Pandemic-_ related strategies up until the wee hours of the morning. It took him another 5 minutes in the shared dormitory bathroom before he left the complex like a frenzied madman, dashing into the elevator and running into none other than Director Frieden himself.  

“Good morning, Director!” Ryuzaki was very aware he was sporting an impressive case of bedhead as he struggled to hold his composure in front of his superior.

Director Frieden smiled. “Lucky for you I’m running a bit late, or else Phase 2 would have started without you. As it is, here are your 2 city files.”

Ryuzaki reached for the tablet he was being handed and stared. The folder he was previously holding no longer existed in material form; somehow, miraculously, it had become a tiny folder icon on the tablet desktop labelled “dispatcher”. He looked up to thank the director but found himself staring at his own reflection in the elevator. There was a pinging sound as the doors opened to the sub-level basement...

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of Arc 1 which introduces the main players and leads to the beginning of Phase 2. The chapter titles up until now have acted as foreshadowing for the character roles that would be introduced each chapter; Arc 2 titles will have a different theme...


	5. Atlanta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. -Cobb (Inception)

_12 hours previously_

After they had gone their separate ways leaving the Wrecking Bar, Jesús wandered aimlessly around the CDC acquainting himself with the compound. He had hid his disquiet while around his new teammates, but try as he might, a blanket of gloom had settled over him, seeping into the core of his being and fueling his anxieties and self-doubts.

Even though going to the Wrecking Bar was meant as a team bonding exercise, he still feels as though he knows next to nothing about the other recruits. Gemma Andrews had been timid at first, but as they discussed their game plan for tomorrow, there was a spark in her being that seemed to shine through only when she actively engaged her impressive intellectual abilities. As the group dispersed however, she had withdrawn within herself again, and had flinched away from all of them as they headed back to the compound. Ryuzaki Yamada had seemed familiar from the start; it had taken him a while to realize Ryuzaki was the same young man he had seen in the Wrecking Bar so many evenings ago when he had first learned of this job from Joel. Ryuzaki had seemed an easygoing, well-adjusted individual with organizational skills that came naturally to him. While Gemma exhibited characteristics of an extremely high IQ, there was a tightening around Ryuzaki’s eyes that belied his youth, indicating to Jesús that here was an individual with a potential emotional maturity level far greater than those in his age group. Sam Jackson had been more challenging to read; despite his outward cantankerous demeanor, Jesús believed that it was all a facade to emotionally distance himself from others. Or perhaps he was simply projecting what he was feeling inside onto Sam Jackson.

For his part, Jesús thought he had hid his history with trauma rather well. There had been an awkward moment when Ryuzaki had asked why he had left the army, and he had to think quickly to come up with a fitting lie. Ryuzaki had accepted his explanation without further comment, although he thought he caught a spark of mutual understanding in Sam’s eyes before he looked away to take a swig of his beer.

Without meaning to, he had meandered his way back to his dormitory. The CDC had set aside 4 connecting rooms for them, and he knew his was the second room, in between Sam and Ryuzaki. Gemma was on the far side, closest to the outside stairwell. His window was open and he could hear the quiet snores of Sam Jackson in the other room. As he closed the dormitory door behind him, there was a soft knock on the door connecting to Ryuzaki’s room.

“Hey.”

Ryuzaki came into the room clutching a bunch of papers. His hair was in disarray and he was wearing his glasses.

“Hey.” Jesús patted the bed, indicating to the other man to sit down beside him. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been doing some research for tomorrow, but that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about...” Ryuzaki heaved a sigh. “You know, I recognized you from the Wrecking Bar that night a long time ago...I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation and I couldn’t bring it up earlier with everyone else around us, but...I just want you to know that I’ve got your back.” 

“Thank you.” Jesús said softly. “I’ve been feeling kind of out of sorts all day.”

“I can...” Ryuzaki hesitated. “I can be a sounding board for you if you would like to talk about it?”

Silence stretched, and it occurred to Jesús that the quiet snoring from the room on the other side had stopped.

“It’s been such a long time.” He said quietly. “I used to dream about what happened every night; the same scenes, over and over again. I try not to think about it when I’m awake...” He looked away, out the window where he could see the first stars coming out into the night.

“I’ve lost...so many people who were important to me...but I find that I have forgotten...so many things; she used to mean the world to me, but now I can’t even remember what her hair smells like. I haven’t thought about what to do with my life for a long time, after, but...learning about this job, it’s given me a bit of hope.” Jesús said quietly, almost as if to himself.

Ryuzaki listened with compassion, another skill that seemed to come naturally to him. “There was a time...you know how I worked as a 911 dispatcher for a couple years after I graduated? I had a really good mentor, he had been there forever, and we all thought he had seen and heard everything. But one day he...he received one of those career-ending calls, you know? The kind that leaves you blaming yourself, unable to fall asleep at night for fear of hearing that voice again, of reliving the situation on other end of the line. It was one of his former girlfriends...he had to listen to her cries as she was being raped. By the time the police got there it was already too late. She had hanged herself.”

There was a wealth of shared pain in both men’s eyes as they sat in silent empathy with each other.

“He was never the same again, but he persevered and recovered. I think...I think these experiences transform us, show us what we are truly capable of. I believe it’s part of the human condition that we can be so resilient, and I’m glad you’re here with us today.”

The night seemed to deepen around them and Jesús could still feel the gloom settling on him like a familiar cloak about his shoulders, but sitting in companionable silence with Ryuzaki, he found that he no longer felt so alone.

***

_Time Zero_

The four of them had been administered IC-617 at the same time, but only Gemma and Jesús ended up together in the same place in the CDC facility. They looked at each other in growing trepidation as they unstrapped themselves from their recliners in the sub-basement. The other 2 recliners were empty.

Gemma made a soft noise as she saw the four headsets on the table and ran towards them. There were also two tablets, one for her and the other for the medic. She put one of the headsets on and silently handed the other one to Jesús. Wherever the other two were, they had no means of communicating with them just yet.

“Look,” she said quietly. “It’s your move.”

Their eyes met. Jesús looked down at his tablet, noticing the flashing folder labelled “medic” on his desktop. Within the folder, he noticed he has the city files for Delhi and Algiers. There was also a map showing the current state of infections in cities across the world; Atlanta is one of the three magnitude 3 cities on the board, while Asia was the most heavily infected, with 6 cities currently infected with avian influenza. Each team member was represented by a pawn-shaped avatar. Currently, Jesús’ flashing orange avatar was next to Gemma’s brown one, Ryuzaki’s orchid one, and Sam’s grass green one. All of them were centered at CDC, but their exact locations within the facility were not shown.

Gemma looked around the empty sub-basement as if hoping her other teammates would appear out of nowhere. Her mentor, Yuliya, Kai Weaver, and Dr. Frieden’s secretary had seen them off this morning in the sub-basement, and it was Yuliya who had injected her with the drug. Yuliya had warned her privately that although the gaming environment is as realistic as it can be, it relies primarily on the dreamers’ subconscious to fill and enrich the gaming shell with the minutiae. In a way the gaming environment is an accumulation of all 4 of their subconscious thoughts and desires, projected externally and manifesting insidiously in bits and pieces in their current surroundings. What Gemma didn’t know was that the technology collects bits of data from every user before her as well; what she is seeing is essentially a shell initially created as a foundation by the game designers, together with layers and layers of collective memory of places that other players before her have generated. Seeing as how the gaming environment is one big manipulation, Gemma hoped that if she visualized hard enough the other recruits would materialize out of thin air.

“Gemma, I think we should leave. We are in a magnitude 3 city and I need to find the H1N1 patients. It’ll be okay, they’ll find their way here later and retrieve their headsets; they probably already have their tablets and can see that it’s my turn.”

“Okay,” Gemma looked around the sub-basement laboratory one last time before she followed Jesús out. “I think you should take my Chennai file; that would give you 3 files for MERS-infected cities.”

“Is there a Dropbox or something...? Oh.” Jesús watched in wonder as Gemma selected the file and bumped her tablet against his. The file transferred instantly. “Fancy.”

“You have 3 more actions, doctor.” They had reached the ground floor parking lot, where a CDC car was waiting for them with the key in its ignition. “We need to find those H1N1 patients. I can drive while you start thinking about your next actions.”

Jesús marveled at Gemma’s determined efficacy. “How did you know there would be a car here?”

Gemma weaved through traffic at a speed much higher than she normally would. “The gaming structure is pre-determined by those who designed this world, but we can modify the interactive fabric with our will. I visualized it, therefore it appeared. Where should I drive to, Dr. Montano?”

“You asked me to call you Gemma, so you should call me Jesús. Twitter says there’s been a recent Code Orange at Grady’s ED, can you get us there?”

The sound of horns blasting filled the air as Gemma executed a perfectly illegal U-turn. “I’ll get us there in 15.”

***

Sam seemed to remember being injected with IC-617 in the sub-basement, but a blink of the eye later he was in an altogether unknown location within the CDC. His tablet told him the others were somewhere in the facility as well, and that Jesús had already used his first action to take the Chennai file from Gemma.

 _Shit_ , he thought furiously. _I need to find my way to the sub-basement. What the----?_

Although he had spent the last couple years abroad at other research stations, he thought he knew HQ like the back of his hand, and yet here was a corridor leading to a hidden lab that he had never encountered despite having wandered down the main hallway numerous times in the past. With a last look down the hallway which would eventually lead him to the elevator, he headed down the corridor to the secret lab marked with the distinctive biohazard sign.

***

Ryuzaki stepped into the sub-basement. Somewhere in his mind there was a voice telling him that something was off; there was no way Director Frieden could have vanished in the elevator between one breath and the next. Somehow without his brain having really processed it, Phase 2 had already started. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

He reached for his headset, noting as he did so there was one left on the table. Jesús’ and Gemma’s avatars, labelled “1” and “2” respectively, were drifting away from the CDC. His avatar lit up with a small “3” when he put his headset on. By default, Sam will be the 4th player to go.

He switched his mic on. “Hey Jesús! Gemma! Can you guys hear me?”

“Ryuzaki?” It was Jesús’ voice. There was a bit of distorted conversation in the background and Ryuzaki thought he could make out Gemma’s voice as well.

“Is that you, Ryuzaki? Are you with Sam?”

“No...his headset’s still here though. Where’re you guys going?”

“We’re on our way to Grady.” Gemma’s voice was slightly breathless. “There’s been a Code Orange and Jesús thinks that’s where the H1N1 patients are. We’re heading to Asia after this unless something else happens before we can get there.”

“Right, I see what you mean. I’ll try to fly you guys closer when it’s my turn. In the meantime I’ll wait here and hope Sam shows up.”

“Take care, Ryuzaki.” It was Jesús. “Stay in touch.”

***

Standing alone in the sub-basement laboratory, Ryuzaki watched as the magnitude 3 warning disappeared from Atlanta. Jesús had initiated his last actions and his travel path has been green-lighted towards San Francisco via a brief layover in Chicago. Gemma’s avatar appears to be following the same initial trajectory to Chicago, although she would ultimately end her turn in Sydney. 2 more cities had lit up after Jesús’ turn, including Ho Chi Minh City, which adds to the growing total of 7 cities affected by avian flu. Judging by the current state of affairs, he knew he has to dispatch Jesús closer to Beijing if it means saving Asia from impending outbreaks. He was about to settle into a nap while waiting for Jesús to reach San Francisco when Sam burst into the sub-basement laboratory, eyes wide and slightly pale.

“There’s something you’ve got to see.”

***


	6. Beijing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on. —Cobb (Inception)

_There’s something you’ve got to see._

The words rattled in Ryuzaki’s head as he tracked his companions on the tablet. Being in the game has shaken his conception of time and he knew he ought not to be surprised seeing that Gemma has already reached and treated Sydney.

“It’s time then?”

He glanced at Sam over his shoulder. The operations expert was staring at his tablet with the same level of ferocity and tension that he himself was feeling. His eyes flickered back at his own screen as the sound of soft pinging pierced the still atmosphere of the sub-basement lab. Shanghai and Algiers are the two cities succumbing to the latest round of infections. After following Sam out of the sub-basement earlier that morning, they had scoured the CDC for other surprises the building has for them. Unfortunately headquarters was too sprawling for the two of them to cover all there is to do, but Ryuzaki had no plans to leave Atlanta just yet.

Ryuzaki turned on the mic on his headset, hoping that their medic was awake on the other side of the continent. “Jesús?”

A crackling of static filled all of their ears as another mic was turned on. “Yes, Ryuzaki?”

“I hope your flight over to San Francisco was uneventful. May I ask you to board the flight to Beijing at Gate D3? I can’t get you there directly so there will be a layover in Tokyo and Seoul.”

There was a brief silence. “Brilliant. That flight sure wasn’t on the boards two seconds ago. Of course, I’ll be on my way.”

“Also, say hi to Uncle Sam for me.” Ryuzaki chuckled as Sam threw him a glare from across the room.

“He’ll be joining you in Beijing in a short while.”

The line went dead again as Ryuzaki and Jesús switched off their mics. Sam was looking at him, one hand already on the door handle.

“You gonna be okay here, kid?”

Ryuzaki stretched his arms as if embracing the vast expanse of the room. “As okay as I’ll ever be, I guess. After all, everyone is just a switch of a mic away.” He tapped his headset to prove his point.

“Remember what I told you.”

“Of course. Tell no one.”

“Right, tell no one. You have the Riyadh file, kid. Best start thinking of meeting with doc soon for the MERS cure.”

“Oh, who knows what the world will be like by the time it gets to me again. We’ll take it one turn at a time, Sam, one turn at a time.”

Sam Jackson uttered an unmistakeable “humph”. “You said there’ll be a jet for me at Hartsfield-Jackson?”

“Yep, take the company helicopter directly to Hartsfield-Jackson, we have our own private hangar and the pilot should take you directly to Beijing. No layovers, sponsored by game rules.”

“Right.” Sam’s eyes swept the entire room before returning to Ryuzaki. “Keep searching.”

“I will. See you...maybe?”

 _Sam will be safe,_ Ryuzaki thought as he flipped through the pile of building sketches before him. _He’s not the one sitting on an uncontained situation._

***

There was something about airports that Gemma found singularly fascinating. They represented a meeting of crossroads, neither here nor there, an artificial place where almost everything was commoditized and nothing was unique or genuine. Nevertheless, it was a good place to people watch when one has the time, and Gemma had plenty of time at the moment. The details of this artificial airport were simply vestiges of her subconscious however, and there was a slight watchfulness in the air that bespoke of this. Her mind was uneasy, and this was projected into her surroundings; the lights overhead would flicker sporadically, people would stare at her in passing, and there was a five feet radius around her that seemed to repel all other living beings. It was like that at the hospital she visited for her treatment action as well, up until she needed to have physical contact with the patients.

Gemma had known for a long time that she lacked interpersonal skills; it was one of the factors that spurred her to pursue research over medicine in the first place. She knew the bare minimum to get by in academia, the necessary skills to defend her dissertation purely on an intellectual level, but people to her were just...people, and she found that their motivations behind their actions did not interest her one bit.

Having been mostly self-sufficient for the majority of her life, it disconcerted her to rely on three almost complete strangers for this task. Granted, the only one she had contact with so far was Jesús and he had been mild-mannered enough as to not be threatening. The doctor also had the virtue of knowing when not to be pushy. When she had woken drenched in sweat after their landing in Chicago, he had gotten her some water and refrained from asking any questions. It had been a strange relief to have someone else watch her back for a change, and she was surprised to find that she missed him when they went their separate ways.

Gemma watched Sam’s pawn intently as he proceeded to erect a research station in Hong Kong upon his arrival. Although there seemed to be an unspoken consent among them to prioritize the containment of avian influenza in Asia and the Pacific, there has been no discussion as of yet on how they will consolidate city files for cures. For the first time in the game, Gemma felt compelled to switch on her mic.

“Can everyone hear me? Please say ‘aye’.”

There was a clicking of mics being turned on and 3 distinctive ayes echoed back at her.

“Does anyone else have city files for MERS? I remember Jesús you had 4 when I saw you last.”

“I have Riyadh and Moscow.” said Ryuzaki. “It may be difficult for me to share knowledge with Jesús in the next round though. We’re on separate continents and the Middle East and Russia seem a bit out of the way to meet up.”

“Sam?” asked Gemma. “Do you have any MERS city files that are close by?”

“Aye.” replied Sam, slightly disgruntled. “I’ve got Mumbai, a heck of a lot closer than Saudi Arabia or Russia at this point. Won’t be able to trek there in 4 actions though so you’ll just have to hang tight, honey.”

“I can probably get you closer, Sam.” said Ryuzaki. “Looks like I’ll be hanging around ol’CDC for a while huh. How’s Hong Kong?”

“Same shit, different city. I’m taking a hiatus from overseeing the station construction. With any luck these fantasy guys would turn out better than those botch jobs Weaver usually hires for me.”

“Sam,” warned Jesús. “We don't know for sure they can't hear us.”

Sam grunts in reply. “How long you think we’ve been in this game for?”

“It’s only been the first round...we’ve barely started.” said Jesús.

“Well best hope it be over soon. Don’t appreciate having you lot and Weaver in my head.”

“They don’t pay us enough for this, huh.”

“They never do.” Sam clicked off.

***

As far as nightmare laboratories go, this one was very well lit; the modernistic stark whiteness of its design sharply contrasting the shadows thrown into relief on the sterile floors. Listening to his team mates on the headset gave Ryuzaki the extra push he needed to continue exploring the offshoot lab Sam had discovered in his wanderings. For a man who seemed far more stubborn than he was wise, Sam had a remarkable spatial recall for the floor plan of CDC HQ. From what Ryuzaki could tell, almost every hall, every room, everything down to the last broom closet were accounted for in his detailed sketches. All except this one: an unsecured, level 3 and up accessible lab meant to hold bioterror agents.  He remembered the argument he had with Sam earlier that day; even though this game was supposedly make-believe he _hadn’t_ wanted to believe.

“Is this some kind of trick? Don’t you guys follow extreme safety procedures for handling this sort of thing? Why is _live fucking anthrax_ _not in a higher level lab_?”

Sam looked at him with pity. “Kid, you ask good questions.”

“Do you think this is part of our challenge?” Ryuzaki wondered.

“Not in the rules, innit?” Sam glared at the abomination like it was a personal affront. “I mistrust the look of this. If it ain’t part of the game...”

Ryuzaki looked at the older man. “Is there something else you’re keeping from me?”

“Listen to me, kid. _Listen_ _real good._ I did not survive _this long_ in _this field_ by trusting _every damn bugger_ I meet. When Shulgin was strapping us in I heard her whisper something to Gemma.”

“Dr. Shulgin, CDC’s lead scientist? Wasn’t she Gemma’s mentor? That doesn’t sound out of order to me.”

“No, but get this. Shulgin said something about this game being a shell. Everything in the structure of this world is as accurate as they can make it through Google Earth, satellite images, all that jazz. It stands to reason this would include CDC HQ wouldn’t it? Where else could be more accurate than a building you _already have blueprints for?"_

“True, but...”

“But what?” Sam asked impatiently.

“You said this game is a shell? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t know.” Sam admitted. “I never heard the whole spiel ‘fore they put us under. There’s something we can do though...”

Still wide-eyed from shock, Ryuzaki looked at Sam with suspicion. “What’s that?”

“We need to compare this fantasy HQ to the real one. If there are other anomalies within the building, maybe, just _maybe_ this was an innocent mistake on the designers’ part.”

“And if there aren’t?”

Ryuzaki found out the answer to that pretty quickly. They had turned off all the fans and air handling systems as best they could before Sam left, and all that was left to do was to destroy all the spores that were currently in the lab. _Let’s just pretend I didn’t look all this up on Google 10 minutes ago,_ Ryuzaki thought as he approached the white fluffy looking substances in the petri dishes.

***

The sub-basement was an eerie sight. The 4 unconscious recruits were stretched out and strapped to recliners, various tubes and cables protruding from an elaborate system which connects them all to a main frame made of multiple screens and computer hard drives. Seated in front of the impressive technological display was the contingency planner.

“Somehow I thought we would have more visual than this.”

Kai Weaver glanced at the primly dressed secretary behind him. “Back so soon, Sandy?”

Sandy shrugged. “Director Frieden left me in charge in his stead. I’m doing what duty dictates.”

Kai nodded. “Come pull up a chair then. If it’s any more entertaining we’ll have to make popcorn.” He said dryly.

“So how does this work? I see you have a tablet but it doesn’t have the same visuals as the main monitors?”

“The main screens imitate the game board and show us in real time the actions taken by the players. The tablet allows me to zoom into where each player is in the game.”

“So essentially you’ll be able to see what they see? That seems like an invasion of privacy to me.”

Kai looked at Sandy strangely. “Actually no, we only get to see where they are in relations to the visual shell the designers had constructed. Any details from the players’ subconscious minds will be unique to the player who perceives them.”

“I see.” Sandy turned back to the game board. “Is that supposed to explain why Ryuzaki’s pawn is currently flickering?”

As if on cue, the pawn indicator winked out and disappeared altogether.

***


End file.
